Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks
Concentrations of trace gases trapped in ice are considered to develop uniquely from direct snow/atmosphere interactions at the time of contact. This assumption relies upon limited or no biological, chemical or physical transformations occurring during transition from snow to firn to ice; a process...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 2024-06-02T07:58:06+00:00 Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks Redeker, K. R. Chong, J. P. J. Aguion, A. Hodson, A. Pearce, D. A. Royal Society Industry Fellow 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Journal of The Royal Society Interface volume 14, issue 137, page 20170729 ISSN 1742-5689 1742-5662 journal-article 2017 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 2024-05-07T14:16:50Z Concentrations of trace gases trapped in ice are considered to develop uniquely from direct snow/atmosphere interactions at the time of contact. This assumption relies upon limited or no biological, chemical or physical transformations occurring during transition from snow to firn to ice; a process that can take decades to complete. Here, we present the first evidence of environmental alteration due to in situ microbial metabolism of trace gases (methyl halides and dimethyl sulfide) in polar snow. We collected evidence for ongoing microbial metabolism from an Arctic and an Antarctic location during different years. Methyl iodide production in the snowpack decreased significantly after exposure to enhanced UV radiation. Our results also show large variations in the production and consumption of other methyl halides, including methyl bromide and methyl chloride, used in climate interpretations. These results suggest that this long-neglected microbial activity could constitute a potential source of error in climate history interpretations, by introducing a so far unappreciated source of bias in the quantification of atmospheric-derived trace gases trapped within the polar ice caps. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic The Royal Society Antarctic Arctic Journal of The Royal Society Interface 14 137 20170729 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Concentrations of trace gases trapped in ice are considered to develop uniquely from direct snow/atmosphere interactions at the time of contact. This assumption relies upon limited or no biological, chemical or physical transformations occurring during transition from snow to firn to ice; a process that can take decades to complete. Here, we present the first evidence of environmental alteration due to in situ microbial metabolism of trace gases (methyl halides and dimethyl sulfide) in polar snow. We collected evidence for ongoing microbial metabolism from an Arctic and an Antarctic location during different years. Methyl iodide production in the snowpack decreased significantly after exposure to enhanced UV radiation. Our results also show large variations in the production and consumption of other methyl halides, including methyl bromide and methyl chloride, used in climate interpretations. These results suggest that this long-neglected microbial activity could constitute a potential source of error in climate history interpretations, by introducing a so far unappreciated source of bias in the quantification of atmospheric-derived trace gases trapped within the polar ice caps. |
author2 |
Royal Society Industry Fellow |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Redeker, K. R. Chong, J. P. J. Aguion, A. Hodson, A. Pearce, D. A. |
spellingShingle |
Redeker, K. R. Chong, J. P. J. Aguion, A. Hodson, A. Pearce, D. A. Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks |
author_facet |
Redeker, K. R. Chong, J. P. J. Aguion, A. Hodson, A. Pearce, D. A. |
author_sort |
Redeker, K. R. |
title |
Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks |
title_short |
Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks |
title_full |
Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks |
title_fullStr |
Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks |
title_sort |
microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic |
op_source |
Journal of The Royal Society Interface volume 14, issue 137, page 20170729 ISSN 1742-5689 1742-5662 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2017.0729 |
container_title |
Journal of The Royal Society Interface |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
137 |
container_start_page |
20170729 |
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1800741363760758784 |